Skating Fridays

A Real Layback Spin {Video}

Many, many years ago, I used to be a competitive gymnast. I was the youngest on my team, and at age 8, I was better than many of the girls on my team (many that were twice my age). Being so young, I enjoyed the flexibility my body gave me. Backbends and walkovers were no problem, and splits were easy.

Then I quit.

As I moved away from the sport, so did my flexibility. I did not maintain it, and as a result, my back has been stiffer than a board. For the past 3 months, I’ve worked really hard to regain some of my back flexibility. Prior to the stay-at-home orders, I’ve never been able to do a true layback. My hips did not want to push forwards, and my back wouldn’t arch. The best I could do was tilt my head backwards and pretend like I was in the correct position. This is the closest I ever got.

However, my back finally started to loosen up a bit. All that stretching finally got me somewhere. When I sent this video to my spin coach, she was ecstatic. I could feel myself actually pushing my hips forward, and I could even see the ceiling when I was spinning!

Yes, I realize that I have a long way to go on this spin, but I am still pretty excited. For someone who has NEVER been able to do a layback spin, this is big. If I can continue working on this spin, perhaps I could include it in a future skating program! Well, one can dream, right?